106 BULLETIN 195, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



three or four together unless it be a group of parents and young. Muir 

 (1894) once watched three of these birds — 



spending a winter morning in company, upon a small glacier lake, on the Upper 

 Merced, about 7,500 feet above the level of the sea. * * * The portion of the 

 lake bottom selected for a feeding-ground lies at a depth of 15 or 20 feet below 

 the surface, and is covered with a short growth of algae and other aquatic plants, — 

 facts I had previously determined while sailing over it on a raft. After alighting 

 on the glassy surface, they occasionally indulged in a little play, chasing one 

 another round about in small circles; then all three would suddenly dive together, 

 and then come ashore and sing. 



The Ouzel seldom swims more than a few yards on the surface for, not being 

 web-footed, he makes rather slow progress, but by means of his strong, crisp 

 wings he swims, or rather flies, with celerity under the surface, often to 

 considerable distances. But it is in withstanding the force of heavy rapids 

 that his strength of wing in this respect is most strikingly manifested. 



Dr. James A. Henshall (1901) , who had some good opportunities to 

 watch ouzels in the clear waters of trout hatchery ponds, writes: "I 

 have seen them plunge into the water, while flying, and continue 

 their flight under the surface for the length of the pond. I have also 

 seen them dive, like kingfishers, from the top of the drain boxes into the 

 water. Then again, I have observed them leave the shore and swim 

 away on the surface like so many ducklings." 



Opinions differ as to how long an ouzel can remain under water ; I 

 have seen it stated as 10 seconds; Dr. A. H. Cordier (1927) noted 

 one-half minute as the longest he had observed; Muir (1894) implies 

 that it can remain under 2 or 3 minutes, but he probably made a wild 

 guess at it ! 



Some observers claim that ouzels do not use their wings in swimming 

 under water, but most of them now seem to agree that they do ; certainly 

 it hardly seems reasonable to think that they could progress rapidly 

 enough or swim strongly enough with feet that are so poorly adapted 

 for swimming. I believe that they not only can enter the water flying 

 but also can come out of it flying. 



It seems strange that a bird that spends so much time in the water 

 and in flying spray should be in need of a bath, but Mr. Skinner (1922) 

 has seen one plunging into the water with the evident purpose of bath- 

 ing ; he has seen one stand in shallow water and flutter its wings in true 

 bird-bath fashion ; and he says that "on early winter mornings, sun- 

 baths are the regular thing. One cloudy morning I noted a Dipper do 

 the next best thing — warm himself and bask luxuriously in the steam 

 from some cooled geyser water that was still much warmer than the 

 keen, winter air. While swimming on the water, a Dipper goes along 

 nodding his head quite like a miniature rail, or a coot. In many ways 

 Dippers suggest wrens. They are small and quick; they often perk 

 up their short tails at a steep angle ; and they are forever exploring 

 every nook and cranny of their domain." 



